


Meow

by yeaka



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:20:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24193480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka
Summary: Kirk has a surprise patient for Bones.
Comments: 29
Kudos: 96





	Meow

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Star Trek or any of its contents, and I’m not making any money off this.

Leonard’s starting to get too old for house calls, or maybe it’s just that he runs himself so ragged in sickbay aboard the Federation’s flagship that when they finally dock, he just wants to _rest_. They’re _supposed_ to be on vacation: Starfleet mandated R and R. Co-signed by the chief medical officer. Except his captain still calls him up every other day, and two days before they have to ship out again, Jim demands he come over. Leonard grumbles that he doesn’t know why they’re friends, Jim casually laughs off his grumpy whining, and Leonard shows up at the door of Jim’s new San Francisco apartment, because at the end of the day, they _are_ friends. 

Jim lets him inside, and Leonard orders, “I’ll have a mint julep,” because that’ll at least make the trip worth his while. 

Jim snorts, “Coming right up, Bones.” Instead of heading to the kitchen, he beelines for the living room. Leonard shrugs out of his jacket, kicks out of his shoes, and follows—at least Jim has comfortable couches he can collapse into. 

He’s barely sunk into the tan-coloured one facing the bay when Jim straightens up and turns around. There’s a ball of black fur in his arms, and for one horrible second, Leonard thinks they’re going to have another tribble incident. He never did figure out how to make the damn things stop procreating like Mrennenimian rabbits—not short of starving them, anyway. But then a pair of piercing yellow eyes cut into him, and he spots the sharply-pointed ears, and he realizes he’s staring at a cat.

The cat’s staring back at him like it wants to slice right to his soul, although it seems perfectly content to let Jim pet it. It’s silent and still. Jim jump rights to: “I need you to clear my cat for passage on the Enterprise.”

Leonard’s brows nearly shoot up into his hairline. “Excuse me?”

“I found him lurking around headquarters the other day, politely sitting by the door, and when he followed me home, well... can you blame me for wanting to keep him?” Before Leonard can answer, Jim briskly adds, “Unfortunately, you know how the brass can be with stowaways—I’ve already suffered through the paperwork, but apparently I still need a professional to sign off that he’s flea-free and not about to spread the Tellarite plague.”

On the one hand, Leonard never thought Jim much of a pet person. On the other hand, he should’ve known that Jim would just have to engage in _some_ shenanigans, even on a break. Leonard reminds him, “I’m a doctor, not a vet!”

“It doesn’t matter!” Jim insists. “Just run your medical tricorder over him and give him a clean bill of health, and we’re good to go.”

“Jim, just...” Leonard gestures vaguely at the cat, trying to relay how ridiculous this is. A starship is hardly the right place for any domestic animal, especially one as independent and troublesome as the feline variety. And it doesn’t even seem like Jim knows where the cat came from. “Do you even know what breed it is?”

Jim peers down at it before deciding, “Mixed?”

Leonard sighs. Jim takes the liberty of strolling forward and dropping ‘Spock’ in Leonard’s lap. Leonard jolts as it lands on his trousers, half expecting razor-sharp claws to slice right through the fabric. But the cat merely straights to sit up with the most exacting posture Leonard’s ever seen on any animal. Jim chuckles and bends to pat it’s head, cooing, “Isn’t he well behaved? He’s smart, too—he’s figured out the automatic doors, and he’ll even come and bat the pieces around when I play chess. You know, I never thought of myself as a cat-person, but Spock’s completely convinced me. Just hold him for a moment—you’ll come around too.”

Leonard doubts that. Straightening up, Jim flashes him a knowing smile. “You’ll see. Give it a minute—I’ll go synthesize your drink.”

“Get the biggest size it’ll give you,” Leonard adds. Jim nods and amenably strolls off. 

As soon as Jim’s out of the room, Spock leaps off the couch and starts shredding Leonard’s pants, just like the little devil Leonard knew he’d be.


End file.
